Can you trust Senator Lopez?

By Richard Pagnotta | May 17, 2013

Last week during the Senate floor debate, Senator Lopez stated his opposition to HB75 regarding same-sex marriage. At that time he also took the opportunity to discuss the negativity of the election process prior to the actual election Nov. 6, 2012. (This was irrelevant to the floor discussion on the bill.) He stated, “It comes down to trust.”

Many of his constituents sent letters, emails and made phone calls in support of HB75, encouraging him to consider all aspects of same sex marriage and how it impacted their individual lives. His responses to us were polite, thanked many of us for our input and insights, and led us to believe that he would give this issue his serious consideration.

However, I have recently learned that Senator Lopez had already vowed to oppose HB75 many weeks prior to the letters, emails and phone calls leading up to last week’s Senate vote. If this is the case, I would have expected him to be forthcoming with his constituents and shared with them his personal reasons for his decision, rather than leading them to believe that he was still considering his position on this bill.

Consequently, Senator Lopez was correct: “It comes down to trust” and because of his lack of transparency, now there is none. His actions and his vote on HB75 will not easily be forgotten.